Richland County, SC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Chapter 8 of the Richland County Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 040-15HR on September 15, 2015, governs vector control across unincorporated Richland County. Section 8-6 requires all premises, structures, and exterior property to stay free from insect and rodent harborage and infestation, and any structure found infested must be promptly exterminated with precautions taken afterward to prevent re-infestation. The same section bans letting water accumulate where mosquito larvae can breed, requires premises to be kept free of the excessive weed growth and rank vegetation that give mosquitoes harbor, caps nuisance fly levels around barns, stables, chicken yards, manure piles, and garbage receptacles under the county's Vector Control Fly Protocol, and bars leaving a dead animal on exterior property for more than 48 hours.

Section 8-5 separately bans letting waste accumulate on any premises to the extent it creates a rodent or vector breeding ground, and Section 8-7 extends the sanitation duty to privately owned pools, spas, and hot tubs. Under Section 8-9, the Vector Control Director or an authorized representative investigates complaints, has the right to enter a property with consent, or a search warrant if consent is refused, and issues written notice describing the violation and the time and method for correcting it before pursuing further enforcement.